Work Text:
Knock, knock, knock.
This hadn't been a pun nor a joke to you once you started hiding your elder landlord, relishing in the moments you spent with him. You hadn't believed in love, or relationships, but the way the man made your stomach swirl with butterflies was something you did not wish to drop quite yet. That, and of course, three months off of your rent for him making it through the month was something you couldn't live without.
It had been midday, a point you had to shop Calvin away to his hiding spot as your heart thumped loudly in your stomach. Mouth dry once more, you sucked in a deep breath as you scanned the room with your y/e/c gaze to make sure nothing seemed as if you had a guest. After all, you could only keep Felix out so many times with your work excuse.
Knock, knock, knock.
You couldn't let the intruder wait any longer as you closed your y/e/c eyes to refocus yourself. Opening them once more, you made quick strides to the door. In the most normal voice you could muster, you called out to the new presence. "I'm coming," you announced, before unlocking the door. Slipping the door open, your mind mentally prepared for the worst: a red faced Felix saying that Calvin had to be here.
What your y/e/c eyes landed upon, of course, had differed greatly. You had to blink once more to make sure your eyes had not been deceiving you. As you opened the door wider, you made haste to usher the new presences in. Closing and locking the door behind you, you had practically tackled the woman who entered your door.
"Surprised?" She asked with a smirk, her hair holding the curls from your mother's side, dazzling y/e/c eyes meeting your own excitement. "I know you said you were busy, but this time we were in town."
"How could you ever be in town?" You questioned as you felt the woman give you a squeeze in return, your legs being hugged as well. "You live in New York, you know. Not really a hop, skip, and a jump." As the two of you separated, you moved to pick up the little girl that hugged your legs with a grin against your lips. "I missed you, sweetie."
"Auntie!" She exclaimed happily as she clung to you.
"Well, Arthur had a shop convention to attend on the outskirts, so I thought I'd come see my big sis," she replied with a grin. As she spoke, she walked into your kitchen, setting a bag upon your countertop. "I also brought a few things for you."
You set your niece down before ushering for the girl to follow you, seeing what your sister had meant. "You didn't have to," you spoke quickly, before she pulled out your favorite tea from the bag. "Well, when you put it that way, I'll just have to surprise you back one of these days."
She laughed, smiling, as she moved to put the water on. The little girl pulled at your leg with a grin never leaving her face, though she held expectant eyes. "Colors?" The little girl asked in the sweetest voice she could muster.
You nearly melted at the look, bending down for a moment as you ruffled her hair. "I can do you one better, sweetheart," you replied, before standing back up. "Let me go get my box."
You strode out into the living room, reached under the couch, and pulled out a box of small toys, crayons, and a coloring book. This little ensemble was something you held onto for when you would have your niece visit, or on those off chances when you would babysit for someone in town. Placing it on the coffee table, the little girl zoomed out to the room to begin playing.
"Aren't you always prepared?" Your younger sister teased with a grin as she got two cups ready for the tea. "Now all you need is a guy to go with it."
You rolled your eyes, knowing this one had been coming. Watching the tea being poured, you spoke softly, so that the little girl wouldn't hear. "You're my Eliza, sis. As Angelica, I'm not getting into a crap marriage."
"You never know," she replied with a shrug, handing you your cup as she took a sip of her own. "Maybe you'll get a fairytale marriage after all."
"Absolutely no such thing," you replied with a chuckle, before sipping your tea. "I love that you're happy, but I'm just not looking for the same thing. I'm happy with what I have."
"A business that you trip over yourself to keep afloat and a lonely apartment?" She accused you with a frown. "You don't have to lie to me, Y/N."
"I have an awesome sister and even more amazing niece that I adore, and I'm doing what I love," you countered, taking a sip of your drink. "What more is there to want?"
"A guy to be there for you," she countered. "Someone to wake up in the arms of and just make you happy to start another day." She paused as she took another sip of her drink, her eyes shifting back to your gaze. "Someone to hate the rest of the world with, because I know that's your thing."
"You've got me there," you spoke with a hint of jest in your tone as you chuckled. "But, you know, I'm happy hating the world on my own. If I love someone else, it's one less person in the world that I'm hating."
She rolled her eyes, before setting her now empty cup down. Moving to give you a hug, her gaze shifted from you to her little girl. "I'll be in town for the weekend," she said, her gaze shifting back to you. "Call me before the end of it and we can stop back, but we need to get back to Arthur."
Mentally, you breathed a sigh of relief, though your lips attempted to form a frown. Hugging her back, you said, "I will. It's not every day you're out here." As the two of you separated, you strode to the living room, crouching down and holding your arms out. "Come here, sunshine. Give Auntie a hug goodbye."
The little girl set her crayon down, getting up as she ran on over into your arms. Small arms hugged you close, the little girl frowning. "I wanna spend more time with you, Aunt Y/N," she spoke with a hint of whine to her tone.
"Honey, we'll stop back later so you can see Auntie for longer," your sister said as she clutched her purse to herself, going up to your door. Ushering the little girl to her hand, she held it firmly, yet gently as she sent a smile in your direction. "Love you. Think about what I said."
You had to force yourself not to roll your eyes as you called out, "Love you both. Give my regards to Arthur."
As the door closed once more, you locked it. As you went off to Calvin's hiding place, trying to keep yourself in high spirits, your sister's words echoed through your head. You couldn't help the fact that you didn't believe in a lasting relationship, and yet, she never could accept it.
"Well, that went...great," Calvin said sarcastically as he moved out of his hiding spot, following you to the kitchen. "You know, you could have lied."
"That would have been easy if she wasn't in town," you countered as you moved to place the little trinkets from the bag away. Shifting to do the dishes, you continued. "She'd want proof that I can't give her."
"But, what if you could?" He questioned curiously, a wry smile making its way to his lips. "I once had Mrs. Burger and her kids pretend to be my family for a woman who was only interested in being the other woman."
Pursing your lips, you thought about his indecent proposal. Something inside of you tightened as you thought of the idea of Calvin pretending to be your boyfriend. "That didn't work for you, though, did it?" You replied with an eyebrow raised, facing him as you spoke.
"No," he spoke with a laugh. "It did not, but this is far less complicated." He moved to wrap his arm around your side, emphasizing your point. "See, the perfect illusion."
"What do you get out of it?" You questioned curiously. As your eyes shifted over to him, you tried to ignore the fact that your skin burned with yearning as you had to force yourself not to melt into the side embrace. The moment that his arm was removed, you immediately missed the comfort, something that you tried to brush off as just being lonely.
Calvin shifted his one eyed gaze to your lips for a second, before shifting back to your eyes as he shrugged. "I enjoy a little dinner theater," he reasoned, a smile still atop his lips. "And I won't have to sit in hiding for your next visit."
"So, what's my script?" He questioned as he leaned against the side of the chair while you sat upon the couch. His eye scanned you curiously as his lips slipped to a teasing smile, watching you scrolling through your phone to dial your sister. "Have you been keeping me a secret for a while, afraid of your sister's expectations?"
Pursing your lips, you stared at the caller identification, thinking about what Calvin was saying. Seeing as Calvin had been significantly older than you, it wasn't a huge stretch. Since the two of you waited so long, the last day your sister and her family should be in the area, there would be no chance she would run into Felix. Shifting your y/e/c gaze to Calvin, you answered with, "It started with a little fooling around, and we realized a while back that we had feelings for each other. That's why I've been avoiding every opportunity she's given for setting me up, but I didn't know how she'd react. Since we've gone serious, I felt it would be a better time than any to introduce you." Chuckling softly, you continued. "She knows I'm a slowburn, so it'll all honestly seem plausible."
"Excellent," he cooed in delight, laughter ensuing afterwards. "What shall I call you? Since it's your sister, it'll have to be believable to your tastes."
"Mmm," you hummed out. "Y/N/N. She knows I'm not someone for pet names on myself, love."
Calvin tried to ignore the warmth that spread in his chest as he listened to love slip off of your tongue. He relished in the sheer fun that this little experience would be, though he couldn't ignore the budding fondness to you as time passed. While you set everything up, he waited patiently for you to get off the phone, sipping some tea you had gotten him prior. The plan was for your sister to come after dinner, a small meet and greet that would give you the chance for endless lies until her next visit.
With your music playing in the kitchen, you got dinner ready, Calvin eying you as you swayed softly to the beat. He could not help the way his lips curled upwards as you swayed to Paris by The Chainsmokers. Observant eyes noticed that you lip synced the music, laughter escaping his lips.
"You can sing if you'd like," he teased you with a wry smile. "If we're playing the part, surely I'd have seen you singing. You're always stopping when I enter the room."
"Incorrect," you replied with an eye roll, though you couldn't help the smile that tugged upon your lips. "But, actually, that would show the seriousness." Pursing your lips, you shifted your gaze to him for a second, before shifting back to the dinner you were making. "I apologize in advance."
As the song ended, the next began playing. This Feeling by Chainsmokers began playing as your heart raced as you started to sing. What you hadn't expected was for Calvin to accompany you for the male portion of the song. Heavens knew, he had heard your playlist enough times over the time he was staying there to sing any of the songs, but you hadn't expected his voice to be so good.
By the end of the song, his hands slipped to your waist, your cheeks covered in crimson blush. "And scene," he teased as he took his hands back, leaving you a flustered internal mess. "Surprisingly enough, it's fun dueting with someone else."
Eyes still wide, you turned back to the food to place it on plates, sucking in a breath to calm yourself. "We will be far more convincing than she's even expecting," you said to break the silence, your lips curled upwards despite yourself. "You, uh, you have a really wonderful voice." You complimented him as you moved to set the plates down, joining one another at the table.
"Yours isn't terrible," he replied with a wry smile. "I expected you would be incredibly tone deaf."
"Thanks," you stuttered out, taking a sip of your drink to offset the blush.
After dinner, you cleaned up the plates, before sitting out in the living room in between the lull of time for when your sister would be showing. At first, it had been in silence despite your music, yourself overthinking. Heart racing, you could at least admit to yourself that you had been nervous, though you played it off as being nervous about how believable the two of you would be.
"Y/N/N," Calvin teased as he noticed you spacing out. "You look a little nervous." His hand motioned for you to come closer to him as a hint of mischief glinted in his eyes.
You raised a brow, though you got up regardless. Walking over to Calvin, you had not even had the chance to get a single word in as you were turned. Pulled onto his lap, his hands moved to your shoulders with surprising experience as he began to massage your back.
Humming in delight, you couldn't help the way your cheeks darkened in crimson. "W-what are you doing?" You questioned curiously, though you melted into skillful hands.
"Calming you down," he whispered in your ear, causing a shiver right down your spine. "You're tense, and you don't need to be."
"You're too charming for your own good, but you're also right," you murmured out, closing your eyes as you focused on his skilled hands. Unintentionally a soft moan escapes your lips. "It's just been a while."
"Been a while since you dated someone, or been a while since you've gotten a massage?" He teased. "You have so many knots."
"I would say both, but this would be my first massage," you replied sheepishly.
"That explains it," he chuckled, continuing to rub your shoulders and back, this time deeper than before.
As he got deeper into your knots, your cheeks grew darker, the occasional unintentional moan slipping past your lips. His warmth surrounding you, your fluster had been at its peak. For just a few minutes, you could have fooled yourself that the two of you were actually together, between your fluttering heart and the butterflies in your stomach.
Knock, knock, knock.
Your stomach churned with worry, though a small part of you wanted to stay on Calvin's lap. Slipping yourself off, you took a glance towards Calvin before your gaze landed back on the door. We'll be fine, you thought to yourself as you moved to open the door. Maybe it was partially the thought that your sister would see through your ruse, or maybe you did worry that you'd grow too attached to the ruse itself.
Moving to the side, you let your sister, her husband, and their little girl in. The momentary pause that you noticed from the corner of your eyes had been expected, though you moved to lock the door before going to greet your guests. "Becca, Arthur, this is Calvin," you said as you forced your lips upwards, faking confidence as you moved back to Calvin, touching lightly upon his arm.
The first time your heart started racing faster and faster had been the moment that Calvin slipped his arm comfortably around your waist. "Y/N/N and I have been together for months now," he spoke fondly, pulling you close to his side. "It wasn't easy to get her to fall in love with me, but I'm sure glad I waited for it."
Calvin sat upon his normal chair, while Arthur and your sister Becca sat upon the couch with their daughter. You moved out to the kitchen to grab tea for everyone, using a tray you had from the far back of your kitchen cupboards to serve it. Once you were going to take a seat on the floor beside Calvin to join in on the conversation, you felt a tug upon your arm. Before you knew it, you were sitting sideways in Calvin's lap, your cheeks so deeply crimson you were sure for a moment you resembled a tomato.
"That shade of red makes you all the more beautiful," Calvin topped in, bringing far too much attention to you than you wished.
Instead, you simply sipped your tea, trying to hide it as much as possible as you calmed down. It hadn’t helped calm you down as you felt Calvin's arms slip around your waist. The warmth surrounding you was nearly suffocating, your heart racing like crazy.
You had been thankful that your sister announced after about an hour that the three of them had to start heading back home. Saying your goodbyes had been mentally stressful, worried that something would be the slightest bit off. As you said your last goodbyes, locking the door behind them, you breathed a sigh of relief.
"A little awkward, but I think it went well," Calvin spoke with a grin, moving away from you to go sit on the chair once more.
You could feel your cheeks finally getting a break from blush, moving to sprawl against the couch, y/e/c eyes fixated upon the ceiling. "I'm sorry that they were a little weird," you replied softly, "but it did go well. Thank you, Calvin."
"I'm curious how you managed to fake blushing so much," Calvin spoke in a teasing tone. "It really brought it all home."
You chuckled awkwardly, replying, "That wasn't on purpose." You bit your lip as you continued. "Apparently, you're charming enough to set my face aflame."
"I did warn you that you'd fall for me," he teased in reply.
"Shh," you replied as your y/e/c eyes closed. "I told you, it's just been a while." For a moment, his words sunk in, tossed around in your head as you mentally cursed yourself. You had not wished to admit it to yourself, nor did you want to admit it to the elder man himself that you were concerned you were falling for him. Instead, sleep fluttered through your mind. As you were going to relax, you realized you had more orders to work on, your eyes opening back up as you pushed yourself to a seated position. Though you knew you needed to get work done, you also knew how late it had already been. Your y/e/c eyes showed your own exhaustion, but you pressed on, standing to your feet. "And on that note, I have to actually get some work done."
"If you do that now, you're just going to fall asleep on your work bench again," he countered, before his lips curled up into a smirk. "If you try to do that, I'll just have to set your face aflame again." His words were hesitant, unsure as he realized as he started that he had not given a real threat, simply something he was thinking about after he no longer could do it. Calvin quickly understood what was budding inside of him, and yet, you were currently his hiding space. There was no way he was going to push things into a position you hadn’t wanted, knowing that you could easily screw up his whole situation. After all, everything between the two of you was comfortable, peaceful even. The elder man knew he surely hadn’t had this much fun in quite some time.
"That's almost tempting enough for me to do, if my face didn't hurt," you replied half sarcastically as you moved to lie back down, this time lying on your side so you could meet Calvin's gaze. "I'll just have to double production tomorrow."
Calvin rolled his eye at you as he moved to take off his jacket. Without words, he slipped his jacket onto you before striding off to your room to sleep. For a moment, he turned back, his gaze landing on you for an extra moment. "Get to sleep, Y/N/N," he called out, his lips curled upwards the slightest bit.
"Goodnight, Calvin," you replied through a yawn, y/e/c eyes closing as you cuddled up with Calvin's jacket. From your barely awake state, you had barely even realized despite the scent that it was Calvin's jacket on you. You were so comfortably curled up in his jacket, his scent intoxicating as you fell asleep underneath it. Surely, you would realize it in the morning, but for the night, it simply made your heart flutter.